Yes, they cut down trees. Approximately 200 per year. But these fallen trees stay nearby, and they are the beaver’s home as well as some of their food. Plus they create a bigger wetland ecosystem than what they took away with those trees. Compare that to what humans do with trees we cut down… transport, process, burn, all sorts of things that are worse for the environment.

“When a beaver builds a dam, it floods outlying areas creating wetlands. Frogs, salamanders, fish, birds and lots of mammals depend on wetlands to live. One estimate shows nearly half of all endangered & threatened species need wetlands to survive.”

Huh. Do you live pretty far from where beavers do (not asking you to be specific)?

But yes, beavers are great. They are what is known as a “keystone species” because they create the wetland environments that many other species depend on to live in. They eat wood, and yes, the way they build dams is by piling debris/wood wherever they find/hear flowing water, until they’ve plugged it all up. Then they build a lodge with an underwater entrance in the pond they made, and stock it with sticks to eat through the winter. I think they are adorable.